State of Saxony Ready to Acquire 25% Stake in Qimonda.

The head of the state of Saxony, Germany, once again reiterated possibilities for the government to acquire a large stake in Qimonda, a troubled maker of dynamic random access memory (DRAM), in order to keep the company’s manufacturing fab in Germany in operation and save jobs for thousands of employees.

Stanislaw Tillich, the prime minister of Saxony, said that the state government could consider a 25% stake in order to have a voice in future company decisions. Still, the majority of investment to support the company must come from a private investor, to which the state could also provide financial help, reports Associated Press.

“Saxony would do everything to ensure Qimonda's roof is waterproof, but an outside investor with a viable business plan was the most essential for Qimonda,” said Mr. Tillich.

About 3200 workers are employed by Qimonda in the area, even more jobs are indirectly created by the main semiconductor fab of the manufacturer there.

Earlier this week the government of Portugal, where Qimonda has manufacturing facilities too, said it was ready to buy 14% stake in the company provided that the government of Saxony and a foreign investor would also invest into the DRAM maker.

Earlier this year an official for the European Union said he saw no reasons in helping Qimonda, which raised questions whether the company could continue production in Europe.

Qimonda is now rampind down its production in order to cut expenses drastically. According to some estimates, the firm is losing €42 million a week.